1599/The Lock Of The Heart

The Lock Of The Heart
Date of Scene:	29 May 2024
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	Madoka and Tadase meet, for what might possibly be the last time in a while. There are concerns raised about Ikuto, and the threat of Sunbreaker looms overhead. Tadase gives Madoka the Humpty Lock, and she stows it away safely. As they part ways, Madoka walks away hoping that her trump card turns out to be an Ace.
Cast of Characters:	Tadase Hotori, Madoka Kaname

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Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase Hotori's mind is full of complicated emotions. He hasn't been able to talk to Ikuto but what he's heard - getting thrown out windows, ending up in the hospital - doesn't make him exactly thrilled. But some family-related news has been a shock to his system - and left a concern in his heart that has been roiling enough he's lucky it hasn't attracted a Dark General to turn him into a youma or something.

    That's on top of the fact that Sunbreaker is on a rampage, and... there's just so much. He looks... very stressed, even for Tadase Hotori, as he sits at the table, looking at his phone. Madoka had asked to meet - a fellow chara bearer and a good soul, he wasn't going to say no. But it did make him think about some things, and that maybe she could help solve one of his many problems.

    When he sees Madoka, he looks up and tries to seem happy and calm, but he really does look anything but. "Hey Kaname-san." he says, not realizing how worried and tired he truly sounds.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka, also, had a lot on her mind. Grim thoughts of wounded friends and increasing body counts. Thoughts of other timelines and how they ended. The idea that she might be rapidly approaching a point of no return. Gretchen, perhaps ironically considering the context, is following her with a suspicious eye. Madoka Kaname has a plan. A plan that she has expressed to no one. Not even her Chara.

    Yet a fairy born out of the dreams of your heart will always be able to tell when something's up.

    When she finally notices Tadase, she offers him a tired smile. There's nothing false about it. She's genuinely happy to see him, and considers him a friend, but also... well, Tadase and Madoka probably share a few of their troubles in common.

    She doesn't comment on his current mood, but she notices.

    "Hotori-san! How are you holding up lately?"

    Gretchen has her arms crossed and her mask over her face, but it's somehow pretty clear that she's giving Tadase the stink eye. She knows exactly what he has.

    Madoka places her book bag on the table, and sits down. "I... I wanted to ask. I assume you know what's happening? Regarding Ikuto... and Sunbreaker?"

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    Tadase smiles slightly. "If I told you I was holding up great, would you believe me?" He asks. "If you would, I bet all your chara wouldn't anyways." She has so many. She really must have a hell of a spirit, a heart absolutely full of dreams and hope. The right kind of heart.

    "No, all I know is that Tsukiyomi-kun made an ass of himself at the Princess Prom, then made an ass of himself again later and got thrown out a window, and now is in the hospital for what I can only assume is making an ass out of himself again. I haven't really felt like talking to him." he admits. "I really hoped he was gonna turn overr a new leaf, and I guess this is BETTER than making x-eggs, but... it's not really the kind of behavior I can condone." he continues.

    "And I know Sunbreaker is making a real mess of things. I haven't encountered her myself, but I've heard a little bit. I keep hoping I can try to catch her but I'm never in the right place... and it's... not looking like I'm going to be anywhere near in position to do so anytime soon." he adds. "...mph. To that end I do have a favor to ask of you, Kaname-san."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka's eyes widen a bit as she hears about Ikuto's behavior. He had several chances to confess some of this stuff to her, and even said that he would, but this is the first time...

    After a moment, she sighs and says, "So... that was the thing with Chiyo-san, right? He's a well meaning guy, but... he still makes mistakes. Hopefully Hoshino-san can set him straight, but I guess it can be hard to overlook when he's already let you down before..."

    Madoka looks down at her book bag, and Gretchen decides to speak up during her Bearer's pause. "Yeah, he's in the hospital, but it's probably not his fault. Sunbreaker went off the deep end and put him there. She's been doing that to a lot of people."

    Madoka clears her throat and says, "Yeah... his magic was drained. Yoru is asleep but otherwise... still alive. I... also... I want to say, regarding Sunbreaker. She's getting more powerful, and from what I hear she's not fully in control of herself anymore. If you do run across her... don't engage alone."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    Tadase winces. "I know he's a well meaning guy but - well, he's also done a lot of bad things that can be hard to overlook, yeah." Tadase takes a breath. Pauses. "You know, I want to believe in the good in him. I want him to be the Ikuto-san that I grew up with - we were like brothers, and I know he can be a really good guy." He says. "But it's also that hope that I have to be careful about, a little bit. Because it's so easy to want it, and then miss the signs of... other behavior." The fact that this might be making Tadase overly-critical instead, isn't one he addresses.

    "When people are counting on you, you need to know that the people you're counting on can be trusted... and that's hard when you've seen those people hurt others, and you know that they have family members still doing the wrong thing that they will hesitate with... and all of that." He notes.

r    "But... I didn't know he'd gotten attacked by Sunbreaker." he says, pausing. "If Yoru's asleep and not waking up that could be bad. I really should... probably go see him." he says, this new information opening his eyes. "And if Sunbreaker's been hurting people, I probably should have been there to help fight her." He says, clearly wincing a bit. "That's what I should be doing." he says, his hand coming up to clutch the locket he's wearing with his school uniform.

    "...But I don't think it's something I'm going to be able to keep doing..." he begins and starts to take off the locket. "... Iktuo-san is in the hospital from fighting her, right? Do you know if she was after anything? Or if she was just rampaging? He's got an artifact like I do, just not a lock."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka looks down at the locket. The Humpty Lock. Gretchen also eyes it, and floats a few inches away from it. The X-Chara glances between Madoka and the Locket. It's hard to tell if she's angry or scared, but from her quick jerky movements it's pretty clear she's feeling something pretty intensely.

    Madoka thinks back. Has she seen Ikuto's artifact before? Possibly, but if she did it would have been a while back. After a thoughtful moment, she shakes her head. "I think... if he was missing that, he'd have mentioned it when I visited. No, I don't think she's after people's artifacts. She's not after the Silver Crystal or things like that. She seems to be... draining people's magic. Their power. Tuxedo Kamen, as I understand, has also been drained and hasn't recovered. That was roughly a week ago."

    Her pink irises go back to the locket, and she asks, "That's the thing that Hinamori-san used on Brai-chan, right? To purify her, and turn her back into a normal Chara? Sunbreaker is, as far as I understand it, currently overloaded with dark energy. Could something like this work on her?"

    After a pause, she adds, "Also... what was the favor you wanted to ask me? Sorry, I got so worried about the thought of more people fighting Sunbreaker in her current state that I forgot to ask. She was already stronger than me before all of this, and now she's gotten even more powerful still. I have no idea what her upper limit is even at right now. If something like that Locket could help purify her, then we're going to need it. It doesn't matter if it's not enough on its own. There will be other purifying magics around, I'm sure."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    Tadase takes all of this in, considers it. "Yeah, I... honestly don't know what powers the Key has. But the Lock - it unlocks hearts. I presume the Key might be able to as well... it would make more sense for a Key to do that, really, but... Magic." he says, and smiles a little bit wider on that. "It's what we used to purifiy Brai, yeah. But the Chara has to be more in tune with its original form first - and tired. Like if we blasted Gretchen right now, she'd probably just float up and slap me." he says, looking to the little X-chara, who's presence is a little unnerving for Tadase as well.

    "The fact that Ikuto's been drained of magic, and that Sunbreaker is such a threat... well, that just means I'm sure what I'm about to ask of you is the right call, right now." he says, looking down at the lock.

    "So... My grandmother is... getting worse. And she's going to go to a specialty hospital, outside of Tokyo. My parents cant go because of their jobs, but someone really should go with her... so... she asked me to go." he says. "Which would... make it pretty hard for me to bring the locket to any battles with Sunbreaker. Or... any X-chara." he says.

    And then he holds his hand out towards Madoka. "So I... would like you to hold onto it. Until Amu or I return to Tokyo. Someone here should have it - someone who is near the Academy, neear Obsidian's big stupid tower, near Easter's headquarters. Someone who can keep using it to make things better." he says. "I thought about Ikuto - but he already has the lock, and it's best to keep them seperate so nobody can take both. I saw a bit on the board in the Shed about some other jerk in Obsidian just trying to take magic stuff." He pauses.

    "And I am worried that just having it would make someone a target, so I didn't want to burden Hinote with it. I don't want to burden you with it either, really... but I feel like with all of your Chara, it's more likely to be hidden with you, and probably won't make you any 'more' of a target." he says.

    "I'm sorry to have to ask it. I'll return to Tokyo as soon as I can, or if Amu Hinamori returns, I was just holding it for her."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "You're gosh darn right I would!" shouts Gretchen. Then, actually, after a few heaving breaths she calms down a little. Now that she knows she isn't getting purified today she's feeling a bit less antsy. "... but yeah, you're right. I think what would happen, at best, is that you'd get rid of the darkness that Easter gave me, but Madoka's heart would still waver and I'd turn back into an X-Egg anyways."

    Madoka looks a little guilty at that very direct jab, but she has to agree. "If it were that simple, we'd have done it already."

    Madoka had come here thinking that she'd have to give Tadase a list of excuses as to why she should have the locket for this fight, that she'd return it soon after she was done, all while trying to figure out a way to either fit him into the plan or convince him to stay somewhere safe. Yet as fate would have it, instead of her trying to dance around the boy's feelings while also saving the world, what actually happens is that Tadase asks her to hold onto it for a while.

    Madoka blinks. Maybe, she thinks, this is meant to be. At least for now.

    "I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother. That sounds really hard. I totally get it. If it were my family, I'd probably do the same."

    Reaching over, she picks up the Humpty Lock. She holds it up to the sunlight and watches the prismatic colors dance across the clover-shaped gem. "I'll hold onto this. Don't worry about X-Chara stuff around here. I'll take care of them. There are enough competent Puella around where I don't always have to worry about Witches as much anymore, so I can focus on wayward dreams. I'll also make sure no one steals it before Hinamori-san or you return. I have five eggs and a whole Labyrinth to hide it in, if necessary."

    Gretchen flails again, making her tiny X-Chara opinion known very loudly. "You're not putting that in my Labyrinth! Make Brai keep it. She's the sneaky one."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    "It would be one thing if it was just other people convincing me to go, and my grandmother said she was fine. If you'd asked me last week, that's how I would have expected it to go. But... my grandmother, she's the toughest person I've ever met, and she's always tempered that toughness with a sort of caring but firm light that I've always respected. And... she asked me, directly. It's her request. I can't refuse." he says, bluntly. "She's been there for me whenever I've needed her, in whatever way I needed her... so I have to be there for her."

    He watches Madoka take the lock from him, and does feel oddly at peace with the decision. Like he felt when Amu gave it to him. It was a big moment, but it didn't feel... wrong.

    "I appreciate this a lot, Kaname-san. I know we've only spent a little time together, but I know that you share a lot of those qualities my grandmother had. You're nice, and full of light - but you can stand firm when things require you to do so, as well. I know you'll bear the lock well, and you'll be able to help a lot of people. That's why I know I can trust you with it." he says, and his smile is a lot more genuine, and some of his stress seems to have left. Not all of it - there's a lot there - but some.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    A personal request, from a matriarch that Tadase respects? Of course he couldn't refuse it. Madoka doesn't know his family personally, so she can only imagine what it would be like if it was Junko asking. "So, that's how it is. I know we haven't had much time to get to know each other, but I wish you and her the best of luck. If you ever need anything that I can help with, be sure to call me okay?"

    Holding the Humpty Lock in her hands feels... somehow like a heavy weight. It's not hers and she knows that. It should belong to someone else. Someone who helped Madoka out one time, when she really needed it. Who, really, was a big part of her becoming a magical girl in the first place. She would hate to think that she was somehow stealing Amu's destiny after the girl had already done so much for her.

    On the other hand, none of this was her fault, and if she's learned anything from her scattered memories of other timelines it's that fate doesn't always go according to plan. Sometimes things just happen that aren't supposed to, and you have to adapt in order to survive.

    "I'm thankful, actually. My intention was actually to ask you if you were going to fight Sunbreaker, and if you said 'no' then I was going to ask for this. One thing I'm sure of is that no one will ever suspect that I have purification magic, so at least I'll have the element of surprise.

    Madoka glances again at Gretchen, who is still a bit pouty but also a bit calm.

    "You better consult with me before you do something dumb!" demands the X-Chara. Granted, according to her, 'something dumb' could apply to literally any choice that Madoka makes.

    Madoka tilts her head and smiles at the dark fairy, then turns back to Tadase. "If you want, I'll let you know how things go. With the Sunbreaker issue and other things."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    "Yeah, I will. I'm hoping it won't be long." he says - partly because it means that his grandmother will be better. Partly because it means he can come home sooner. "I'll try to keep in touch, but I don't know how busy I'll be. Settling in a new school and all, and I won't know for how long it'll be..." he takes a big breath and lets it out slowly.

    "But that's peanuts compared to what's going on here. Sunbreaker's a real problem. She's dangerous to a lot more than just one person." He says.

    "I'm not sure people ever got used to -me- having purification magic, but especially since you've got Gretchen and Hope Blossom it should come as a heck of a shock.... I wonder how it would work on Witches." he muses. Tadase knows nothing of the nature of those creatures, though. He doesn't know how big the question he's asking is.

    "Please keep me in the loop. I'm gonna worry until she's taken down. One way or the other. This is my home, this is my school. Even if I'm somewhere else, my heart will be here. Knowing you're protecting it will do a lot to ease my worry, but hearing about good things will help a lot too." he says, looking at her.

    "And maybe use me as an alternate source for consultation than just listening to your X-Chara." he adds.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka nods along as she listens to Tadase's words. Hopefully he can come back soon. Hopefully it wont be too long. There's no real telling though. When he mentions Sunbreaker, Madoka adds, "Yeah, she is. Herself included."

    On the subject of Witches, Madoka glances off to the side. The truth behind that subject... she'll probably keep to herself. However, she's seen purification magic being used on Witches before. "It wouldn't be different from a standard magical attack, honestly. I think I've seen Sailor Moon use magic like that on a Witch before, but it didn't really purify it or anything. The locket might work differently on some level... have you used it on youma before?"

    On the subject of Gretchen's consultation, the X-Chara raises her mask just long enough to stick her tongue out at Tadase. Madoka frowns at her and says, "Don't be rude. He's done us a favor."

    Gretchen pulls her mask back down and starts to float away. She's grumpy now, moreso than usual, and Madoka having the Lock is -not- helping.

    Sighing she turns back to Tadase and says, "She's such a handful... but she's only like that because of me. Sorry about that... and don't worry. I'm not solely listening to her and her alone. She's good at tracking Witches, but... anytime you deal with a dark energy being you have to take their word with a grain of salt, you know?"

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    "I've really only used it on X-Chara. I've helped out but as far as I can tell nobody talks about how it would be used against other things. Maybe you'll be the first to try." Tadase admits.

    Tadase looks at Gretchen. "I don't take it personally. If I got mad every time an X-chara wanted to offend me I'd just be mad at every encounter. They're people's worst tendencies... but every one of them also represents a dream, and they always turn back into those pure dreams when we're around to interfere." He gives Gretchen a sideways look. "Always." he adds directly to her. "So they're just kind of small kids undergoing temporary temper tantrums." he says.

    "Don't apologize. Look at all of the non X-Chara you have. You've got a big heart with crazy big dreams, clearly." He doesn't know the way in which potential has interacted to cause this. "I don't know what she represents that she feels you're not capable of being yet - but she needs you, and one day I'm sure you'll reach that potential, because I know you won't give up on her."

    "...honestly taking things Charas say with some degree of skepticism is a good idea usually. Kiseki represents me, but it's not only the good parts of me, and the little guy is perfectly capable of lying when he thinks he needs to..."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    A little kid throwing a tantrum. Yeah, that sounds about right. Gretchen is upset, and on some level she has every right to be, but she takes it out on the wrong people or blames her emotions on the wrong things. At least, that's how Madoka sees it.

    Gretchen turns around at Tadase's 'Always' and looks like she's gonna say something, but she holds her peace. Instead she glares at Madoka for a moment before opening a Labyrinth portal and leaving to pout in her own private world.

    Madoka shrugs. "She started as an incomplete dream. She wasn't supposed to be born yet. I've noticed that a lot of people have Heart's Eggs, but most of them are sleeping and stay that way for a long time. I've also heard that a Chara Bearer can have a Chara Egg for a very long time before it actually hatches, but only once the dream becomes clear. She was supposed to be like that. When she was first hatched, she was supposed to be 'my best possible self', but..."

    Madoka pauses. There's no way that she can really burden Tadase with the knowledge of what it means for a Witch to be your best possible self, or how it could probably help a large number of people.

    "... Well, during the moment she and Brai got corrupted, Kyubey had just implied to me that I might not be able to become a magical girl anymore. So with that being my dream, my Chara got hit pretty hard. You already know how the rest of that story went."

    Madoka holds the locket in both hands and turns it around in her fingers slowly as she talks and thinks. "What I've been trying to do is... alter the dream in some way. Change it into being something more clear and meaningful than just... 'my best self'. Something with more substance. Like... Lydian I can point to her and tell you directly that she's my wish to be an artist. Sio, to be strong and fierce like my mother. Brai, to be competent, especially when it comes to magical warfare. Medo, to heal the wounded and sick."

    "Gretchen... she doesn't have that clarity, and without that she almost shouldn't even be hatched. That's why she's afraid of losing her dark energy. She thinks, if she gets purified the way she is now, she might stop existing. I... don't know if I believe that. Dark energy has a way of deceiving you and making things worse than they are, but if I were to give her a better form, a better definition of what that means... I'd probably say that she represents my dream of being the kind of person who makes things right... and I'm not sure that I'm really stepping into that role."

    Madoka thinks back to how things have gone recently. She's always been willing to help, sure, but someone else has always been around to do the real work. She helped keep Bow alive, but Setsuna was the real doctor. Volunteering at the hospital only drives that point home even more. Actually, she spends a lot of time playing a support role...

    "... But I also think... that I need to be sincere with my dreams. If I try to force her to be one way or another, then I'm just rejecting what she actually is. If that makes sense."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    Tadase nods. "Yeah, pretty much everyone who hasn't given up hope on their dream has a Heart's Egg. Most people's never wake up into a Chara." he confirms. "It's not normal for people to have more than one - your number is unheard of. So honestly, I'm not surprised that... some of them felt like they couldn't be completed. It is probably hard to hold so many dreams with competing ideas and make them all... work at the same time. I don't know what she represents, but... it makes sense for her to be worried. The fact that she's still near you and has retained her sanity - or a lot of it - is probably a good sign. She's still distinct, unlike most X-Chara we see, the blacked out ones, that have totally lost their way."

    "The way you're trying to deal with it is novel. I hope it works. I wish... I could be around more to help. Hopefully, I can be soon." There's a lot of lifting that 'hopefully' in that sentence is doing.

    "Yeah, I think trying to push her to be something she's not is much more of a danger to her than having the Dark Energy purified. With that in her... well... she can probably hear me even wherever she's snuck off to... but she's liable to become a danger. You know? She -could- still go on a rampage, or push for the wrong thing - because of all of that clouded judgement. Just because she's not throwing the tantrum all over the school grounds with giant magical dangerous words or something... doesn't mean she couldn't be trouble in her own right. Dreams deferred can kind of... rot, into regrets." he continues.

    "It might be better to accept if a dream isn't achievable - than let them fester into rotten dreams, regrets. But... at the same time, if you can embrace all of the facets of yourself, all of the possibility, that shouldn't be necessary. I don't know what it's like, to have so many - to have more than one, even. Kiseki is... such a handful on his own..."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka glances away when Gretchen's sanity is mentioned. It's not entirely wrong. After all, they saw what happened to Brai, but... "It's funny. Homura-chan also said that Gretchen was unique in that she had her sanity, but Gretchen-chan herself doesn't seem to think herself sane. Despite her earlier behavior, I think on some level she was glad to see us talking, even if it made her worried. It's true that she's not throwing a magical tantrum or going crazy the way most X-Chara go, but... having henshined with her before, and become Hope Witch... I can kinda see what she means when she says she doubts her sanity. The mindset I have to be in to use that form is outright alien."

    Madoka reaches to the collar of her uniform and pulls out a necklace. On it is a pearl, a keepsake that Aqua Regina gave her. Madoka slides the locket onto the necklace, letting it sit next to the pearl. This is the safest place that she can put it for right now. While doing this, she thinks about what kind of trouble that Gretchen could cause...

    She lets out a heavy sigh. "I mean, that's kind of the thing, right? That X-Chara is also my most powerful. She holds the vast majority of all the karmic potential I have. If she ended up doing what Sunbreaker is now... I don't even know what she'll do, or how I'd stop her. I try to placate her, make her feel better, give her snacks and attention and let her know she's cared for, but... I don't think that will ever be enough for her.""

    "Though..." for a moment Madoka smiles, even giggles a moment. "Honestly? I can't keep track of them all. I just let them wander around. For the most part they take care of themselves. I think they also look after each other for a bit. Sometimes I hear about the adventures they go on when I'm not around, and for the most part it sounds like a lot of fun. It's hectic, but... there's a lot about Chara that I really enjoy, too."

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    Tadase leans back. "I don't know. There's so much we don't know about Chara. We could really use a researcher. Closest I can think of in our little sort-of-group is Hinote, but he's more of an investigator. We need somebody with a science chara or something." He says. "Though I guess they don't have to be a scientist, explicitly. Just in that sort of thought."

    The alien mindset is, by nature, not something Tadase can truly imagine. But he has sympathy for Madoka. "I can't imagine what it's like - henshin'ing with an X-chara. Being flooded with all of their feelings like I am when Kiseki and I are in-tune and become Platinum Royale. That's before getting into anything specific."

    Tadase shakes his head. "If you could feed Gretchen and take care of her like a parakeet and make her happy she wouldn't be an X-chara. All of those things might help, but... what she really wants is within you, and it's not something you can give her. It's something where you have to be on the same wavelength." he says.

    "Yeah, Kiseki is staying with Wuwu for a bit right now. He would never admit it, but the two of them are friends... and rivals." he says, smiling. "And I'm sure I'll go a little bit crazier without Wuwu keeping Kiseki half occupied... oh no I hadn't even thought of that." he says, legitimately paleing a bit. "It would probably be easier if Kiseki had someone to hang out with - ... as long as that someone was responsible." he says. "I guess it could be two of them which might be... worse."

    After a moment of silence Tadase's phone rings and he picks it up quickly upon seeing the number. "Sorry!" he whispers, as he listens to whatever's on the other end.

    "...uh. oh. Yeah. Yeah I'll be right there." the blonde says. He hangs up and looks at Madoka apologetically. "Sorry, Kaname-san. I have to go now. Take good care of the locket, and Brai and all of the others... and Tsukiyomi-san, if you can. But that may be a little too much compared to the rest so hopefully he learns to take care of himself. I have to go, and then I have to see him before I leave... text me if you have any questions, and kick Sunbreaker's butt." he says, before getting up and slinging on his backpack and running... in rather a hurry... out of the school grounds towards the ward his house is in.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka watches as Tadase receives a call, and goes quiet to let him listen. When he gets up to leave, she smiles at him. "Sayonara, Hotori-san," she says, not expecting to see him for a long time. "I don't know how much I can help on the Tsukiyomi front, but I'll do my best. I'll keep in touch, about him and the other things."

    She doesn't want to keep him long, so after watching him leave for what might very well be the last time, at least in this timeline, she looks back down at the locket around her neck.

    Madoka has plans. Probably not smart plans. Probably not good plans. Plans that will probably deeply upset at least one grumpy X-Chara, but...

    ... She seriously cannot think of a better way.

    Madoka rises to leave. If she wants to be ready to use this against Sunbreaker, then she still has a lot of work to do.